The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are something that I have been looking forward to for some time. The competition and sporting feats are intriguing and exciting to follow, but what also draws me to be a big fan is the “Olympic Spirit.” Every four...
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published July 4, 2012
In his new book “Moses: A Stranger Among Us,” ($19, Cascade Books, 164 pages), Rabbi Maurice D. Harris, a native of St. Louis, sets forth a fresh look at Moses, “from a progressive, pluralistic Jewish perspective.” Rabbi Harris himself is no...
Who among us hasn’t emerged from narrow straits? Is there anyone who hasn’t come through a fraught situation, maybe bruised but not beaten; blemished but not broken? Our Torah portion this week, Chukat, is famous for its enigmatic law of the Red Heifer....
Every so often, the people in the Torah pray. Maybe not as often as we might expect from such a holy text, but they pray, and sometimes with breathtaking intensity. Patriarchs and Matriarchs, lowly servants, great kings and humble shepherds, prophets...
As the fourth book of the Torah opens, God orders Moses and Aaron to take a census of the people, specifically those males who are of the age of conscription. The Israelites still have many challenges to face, as they continue their journey from Mount...
By Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose
• Published April 4, 2012
The Bible is an answer to the question: how to sanctify life. And if we say we feel no need for sanctification, we only prove that the Bible is indispensable. Because it is the Bible that teaches us how to feel the need for sanctification.” —Rabbi...
Crises in faith — we all have them at one time or another. Each of us can become overwhelmed by life and what it often brings to us when we have other plans. These crises can come from many different sources — the loss of a job, the death of a loved...
Charles de Gaulle is supposed to have have asked how he could govern a people with 246 cheeses. This is a notable milestone on a long history of leaders (even great and beloved ones) complaining about the people they are supposed to lead. One of the...
BY RABBI LANE STEINGER
• Published August 10, 2011
In the history of the world and in world literature, there have been many famous couples and lovers: Antony and Cleopatra, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (for whom he built the Taj Mahal), Lancelot and Guinevere, Napoleon and Josephine, Orpheus and Eurydice,...
